


A New Game

by MageofEnd



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Characters will be added as they appear - Freeform, Edit: Chapter 2 friends, Everyone Willl Eventually Show Up, F/M, He will appear soon, Lucy is free, Maxwell so far only appears in mention and voicemail, Willow Woodie and Lucy's Roadtrip Adventure, i guess, roadtrip au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-03-29 02:15:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13917240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MageofEnd/pseuds/MageofEnd
Summary: The Constant is far behind them, but the survivors' problems have not yet ended, years have passed and the world has gone on without them. To make matters worse, they've all been separated, without a clue as to where the others are! But with a few half-baked plans, a chance meeting, and an impromptu roadtrip, their situation might just improve. Maybe.





	1. Long Way From Home

There was something about being back that saddened Woodie, a hole in his chest that made everything seem so much bigger than it was. Perhaps it was the fact that, after so long, he’d come home to a whole different world, or maybe it was something else entirely. Maybe it was absolutely nothing at all.. Either way, it didn’t really matter right now, right now he and Lucy were halfway to nowhere.

It hadn’t taken them long to decide to look for the others, it was a crazy idea, but really, what did they have to lose? The world had changed, and anything they had was gone. Woodie supposed, in a way, they had gotten what they wanted in the first place: a fresh start. Though it wasn’t exactly the clean slate he’d hoped for. It had taken quite a while to adjust, but he thought they were getting the hang of it. 

Beside him, Lucy stirs, Woodie wasn’t quite sure if she was really sleeping, or faking it. In all honesty, Woodie didn’t actually know if she needed sleep at all, he’d never thought to ask before. It was odd, her here like this, having her hand resting gently in his as the shadowy silhouette of the countryside races by. They’d been traveling like this for a few weeks now, public transportation was faster than walking, even though it took a chunk out of whatever money they were able to scrounge up. Woodie hadn’t wanted to leave Gladwin behind just yet, but Lucy had been getting nervous. Neither liked staying in one place for too long, but there were some things Woodie had wanted to look into before they hit the road.

It isn’t long before the bus swings into the parking lot of a rest stop, illuminated by a single flickering streetlight. The only other vehicle in the parking lot is an old rust-touched pickup painted a less-than-pleasant shade of green. Otherwise, there isn’t much else other than dead silence and scattered trash.

Woodie shakes Lucy gently, even if she was faking it, it wouldn’t hurt to try. 

“Mmmmmmmm.” 

“C’mon. Our stop.” Woodie says.

Lucy groans in response.

Woodie chuckles. “Long walk tomorrow, rise and- well, not shine, eh?”

Lucy opens one eye, revealing it to be blank. It was a small reminder that, no matter how much it felt like it at times, she was, in fact, not human. Not like the same thing couldn’t be said for himself, though. He was cursed, this Woodie had accepted long ago. Lucy wasn’t human, that he had gathered the moment they met, considering the whole ‘talking axe’ thing. Speaking of which, said axe was stowed away in one of their bags, it wasn’t exactly clear who’s, as they’d been in a rush to pack after a mishap that led to them nearly missing their ride out of town. It was there though, Lucy, despite everything, was still partially bound to the axe that had held her for so long, meaning she couldn’t go too far from it without it either flying a distance and embedding itself in whatever (whoever) got in it’s way first, or Lucy tripping over the invisible force that kept the two together.

“I feel heavy.” Lucy mumbles. “Also walking is weird.”

“You’ll get used to it.” Woodie assures her.

Lucy stretches, lifting her head off Woodie’s shoulder and slowly inching herself out of the seat to let Woodie out. He grabs both of their backpacks, handing Lucy’s to her. Together they shuffle off the bus with the rest of the passengers, into the cool night air. Spring would soon give way to summer, which made Lucy slightly sad. She liked spring, even back in the Constant where it flooded half the time and rained killer frogs the other. There was something calming about spring, something she couldn’t quite place, even more so now that she was home again. Well, home-ish, it’s not like she could go back, though. Not that Lucy wanted to go back, if given the choice, she’d stay in a metaphorical heartbeat. This was home, that was home too, but here, this plane, was where she would stay. Here was a place she had resented for so long, only to come to love it. 

The other passengers fan out, going about their business before they would load back onto the bus. Lucy, as well as Woodie, though, would not be joining them. This is where they’d stay for the night, resting out in the woods, out of sight, even though she didn’t figure there would be any reason for it. It was more or less habit at this point. 

“Where’s the camp tonight, eh?” Woodie says quietly, gently taking Lucy’s hand in his own.

Lucy smiles, scanning the area for a good place to set up. “What about over there?”

Woodie turns his attention to where she’s pointing and nods. “Looks good.”

The spot they settle on is out of sight, hidden away by the trees and brush. It felt natural, safe even. Woodie makes himself comfortable as possible on the ground as Lucy buzzes around doing whatever she felt needed to be done. It would be a few minutes before she joined Woodie on the cold earth to rest for the remainder of the night. Right now, though, she was digging through her backpack, taking inventory, she supposed… They’d need more food soon, water was alright, they could get that in plenty of places, everything else seemed to be in order.

“How’s everything looking?” Woodie asks, attempting to make conversation.

“Fine,” Lucy says, sitting down next to him. “I think I’m gonna stay up for a little bit, though.”

“Can I, uh-”

Lucy cuts him off, “Nothing’s wrong, I just feel like it.”

“Alright...” Woodie wasn’t entirely sure he fully believed her.

“You need to sleep, though.”

“That was the plan.” Woodie yawns, rolling over onto his side.

It doesn’t take long before Woodie is out cold, leaving Lucy alone with the quiet. It was true, she’d learned to dislike the night. While fully bound it was either still and boring or so stressful it had left her wishing she had the ability to sleep. Though things had changed once they had escaped the Constant, Lucy didn’t understand why it had worked out like this, only that it had. Either way, she liked where it was going. Even if this plan was a little half-baked, it was better than nothing! If the others were out there, they’d find them! Band together again! They were-

Lucy sits up, gently untangling herself from Woodie’s embrace. She could have sworn.... Lucy stands up, stumbling over to her backpack. After a quick search, she tucks the axe under her belt, and makes her way out through the brush and onto the edges of the rest stop parking lot. The light from the parking lot partially obfuscates the scene laid out before her; but Lucy could see enough to tell that something was burning and it looked like a someone was responsible.

Whoever it was was enjoying it as well, cheering as a plume of sparks fly upward and blink out when another piece of something was thrown on the fire. That voice… it couldn’t… could it? Lucy steps out of the tall, tangled, weeds that dominated the borders of the parking lot, onto the cool, hard, asphalt. As Lucy gets closer, the individual becomes clearer, too preoccupied with the blaze to notice her approach. The face becomes clearer, sharper, it can’t be, but indeed it is!

“Willow?!”


	2. The Road Ahead

Willow awakes to light, not the type of light that covered the world during the daylight hours, no, the harsh, blinding, headlights of a vehicle now parked smack-dab in the middle of the mostly empty parking lot. She sits up, leaning on the door, she’d fallen asleep in the back seat, as was her habit these days. Though it did her no favors in terms of comfort, it was the only place she had to sleep at the moment, unless she wanted to get out and sleep in the back, which left her out in the open. Thanks, but no thanks, she’d take the back seat any day.

Minutes pass as the radio hums quietly in the background, a song she’d come to like.

_“What you’re looking for won’t be found easily.”_

_“It grows upon the mountain in a sacred place.”_

_“Up beyond the clouds, in ancient ground, so they say.”_

_“And many men have died trekking up that way.”_

Willow opens her eyes after the light passes by again, sighing as she watches the bus pull away and disappear down the road once again. She was alone now, good. Willow yawns, crawling up over the console and reaching over to unlock the doors. Pocketing her keys and lighter, Willow sits back down, and opens the back door, climbing out of the vehicle. As she does so, her foot brushes something, which falls and hits the ground with a metallic clang. Willow looks down to see her water bottle rolling in a lazy half-circle before coming to a partial stop, content to rock back back and forth ever so slightly.

“Oh, come on.” Willow groans to nobody in particular, please don’t let it be scratched.

Willow closes the door, leaning down and picking up the object. Indeed, it was scuffed, a bit of the red gone away to reveal dull grey. She… guessed this was alright, grey was like ash, after all. Sighing, Willow hooks her water bottle around her belt loop, she’d been meaning to refill it anyway. It was kind of cold, leaving Willow wishing she’d taken her jacket with her, but she was already halfway across the parking lot, and didn’t feel like going back to the truck. 

When Willow had woken up, she’d been right back where she was when she left this world, only, things had changed. It was difficult to explain to that poor family what an unknown and extremely confused woman was doing in their kitchen. And by explain, that was, start panicking and let the words just run off by themselves in a hilariously incoherent rambling rant that only served to confuse them more. It wasn’t her proudest moment, but Willow would admit, breaking down in the middle of the kitchen floor probably saved her from the authorities. 

Eventually she was allowed to explain herself in full, no matter how crazy it sounded, and with a demonstration of her strange abilities and some extra convincing, they seemed to at least believe part of her story. It probably also helped that she was looking at everything in the room like it was from the moon. Willow hadn’t stayed with them long, only enough time to start getting her bearings in the new world she’d woken up in. If there was anything she needed to do, it was find the others, if the others were even here… or… No, she wouldn’t think about that. 

She reaches the low, red brick, building that housed the restrooms. Willow moves around to the side where she’d thought she’d seen a water fountain while stretching her legs earlier. There was a vending machine somewhere around here, too. It wasn’t probably the best idea to trust that stuff, but in all honesty, Willow had eaten more dubious things in the past. 

Willow screws the cap back onto her water bottle, having found the fountain, there, that was done. One of a million things that needed doing, fifteen or more of them being an uncertainty as to whether or not they could even be accomplished. Willow crosses the parking lot again, crawling back into the backseat of her truck. Though, not everything was how she’d left it.

“Oh, hey Bernie. Sorry, buddy.” Willow says to the bear, moving him off the seat and setting him in her lap. She gets no response, only silence on the end of her faithful childhood companion. Willow pulls her knees up to her chest, so that Bernie’s head was resting under her chin. He smelled faintly of smoke… No… now wasn’t the time for fire, she needed to sleep if she was going to go make it to New York by the weekend. From there, she’d meet with Maxwell, who’d hopefully provide her with some resources to pull her through for a little while… From there, she really didn’t know.

It was chance, quite a few favors, and the fact that the magician did not know what ‘laying low’ meant, that Willow had found out where he was, and in the process got his contact information. It’d been an awkward first conversation since escaping, but Maxwell reluctantly agreed to her plan. Though, as usual, he was a jerk about it. Willow would have to make her own way there, as Max was ‘too busy’ to do anything about Willow’s situation. Her gaze sets itself upon the lavender-colored piece of paper taped to the dash, the one that, with how much it smelled like old flowery cologne, was basically a written on air freshener. (Who even uses the post anymore? Maxwell, that’s who.) If she really wanted, she could call him, she had his number, and a phone she sort of understood how to use. 

It wasn’t long before the phone was in her hands, punching in the number on the lavender paper written in handwriting so fancy it was almost too difficult to read.

One ring.

Two.

Three.

It soon goes to voicemail.

Maxwell’s voice comes over the speaker with practiced annoyance. “You’ve reached the residence of Maxwell Carter. I didn’t miss your call, I simply do not wish to speak to you. Please do not leave a message. Good day.”

Of course he wouldn’t answer, not even if he was awake.

Willow sighs, “Hey Max, I know your stupid message thingy says don’t leave a message but it’s stupid so I’m gonna ignore it. I guess I just wanted someone familiar to talk to, sure I got Bernie and all but when it comes to the conversation boat he and-”

Willow pauses at the thought of Wes, she really did miss him. Sure, he had been a bit weird, but at the end of the day, Wes was a real great guy.

“Anyway, I’ll be there in a day or two, hopefully. See ya.” Willow says, hanging up.

From there, Willow allows her thoughts to drift, aimless, until the loneliness finds it’s way to her yet again, a stone settled on her chest, rising into her throat. Yet, the weight itself is a hollow space, pulling her heart downward. It had been this way for a while, creeping up on her late at night when there was nothing else to think about. Before The Constant, it had never been like this, being alone was okay, she’d grown up with it, after all, but, like many things, that had changed. Day filled by work and friends, night populated by impromptu dance parties and fireside heckling. Looking back on it, Willow had never realized just how busy her life had been, it had almost felt normal.

...Maybe now was the time for fire.

***  
The woman in front of her was not someone she recognized, but Willow could have sworn she’d said her name.

“Excuse me…?” Willow says slowly, still surprised that there was anyone here at all, not a soul had been here before, and not one had stayed when the bus pulled in earlier.

Or, at least, she’d thought so.

The stranger speaks up again. “Willow, hey…”

Noticing Willow’s confusion, she reaches for something at her side, causing Willow to recoil, the only thing she had to defend possibly defend herself was her keys and a lot of fire. When she looks back, Willow is rather relieved to see that the stranger isn’t coming towards her, instead holding the object close to her chest, as if to keep it as far from the fire as possible. Upon closer inspection, Willow realizes what she’s holding is an axe, and a familiar one, too.

“Lucy?”

The person in front of her grins, nearly tackling Willow in a hug.Which was probably not the best idea with fire and weapons around.

“Yes! Yes! Oh my gosh!” Lucy cries, “Yes it’s me!”

“Aren’t you supposed to be in Canada or something? And uh, an axe?”

Lucy grins even wider, if at all possible. “We were! Until we came down here looking for you guys. And I was stuck like that until after we escaped!”

Lucy lets Willow out of her embrace, taking a step back. “So much has changed, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Willow breathes, “It really has.”

“When we woke up Woodie and I went out to his hometown to try to get help, but we could hardly find anything familiar, besides a big rock or two.” Lucy giggles, “We made the clerk at the general store faint.”

Willow snorts, “How?”

“Well it turns out he was a real ‘history buff’.”

Willow laughs, only stopping when something dawns on her. 

“Where’s Woodie? Is he alright?” She asks, now slightly worried.

For how much they got on each other’s nerves, Willow did care about the lumberjack, he was Lucy’s partner, after all.

Lucy just keeps smiling. “He’s alright, just resting right now. I’d wake him up, but he hasn’t been sleeping good lately, not that he ever does, but you get what I mean, right?”

Willow nods. 

“So,” Lucy sighs, “What’ve you been up to?”

“You really wanna know?” Willow chuckles.

“Sure!” Lucy exclaims.

“Right on then, do I got a story for ya...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I just would like to thank you for reading! 
> 
> The song is "La Belle Fleur Sauvage" by Lord Huron, from the album "Strange Trails"


End file.
